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Sanjay Jog
Mumbai, Feb 14: A high-level committee headed by the State Industrial and Investment Corporation of Maharashtra (Sicom) managing director DT Joseph has strongly recommended that infrastructure project having fixed capital investment exceeding Rs 250 crore may be considered for sales-tax incentives on purchases.
In order to make infrastructure projects viable, the committee has emphasised that the land cost should be subsidised. The committee has suggested that government-acquired land for an infrastructure project, involving fixed capital investment of Rs 1,000 crore and above, be allotted at concessional rate of Re 1 per hectare per year for the project promoted on build-operate-transfer subject to the condition that ownership of such project must go back to the state government after the stipulated period.
The committee was appointed by the state government to prepare a revised package scheme of incentives for industries as the tenure of the scheme introduced in 1993 was completed in January thisyear.
Mantralaya sources said that a two-month extension has been given by the state government for the formulation of new package. A cabinet sub-committee will shortly clear the recommendations made by the Joseph Committee and release a revised Package Scheme of Incentives. The revised scheme will be applicable till December 31, 2003 depending upon the suggestions by the state finance ministry.
The Joseph Committee has called for an incentives on purchase tax paid on inputs during the construction stage of public roads connecting to MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) areas, bridges, flyovers, ports, minor ports, airports, urban transport and tourism infrastructure outside Mumbai and Pune metropolitan areas (the areas other than A area).
The committee has recommended not to charge mining royalty and no agriculture (NA) assessment tax for infrastructure project. Infrastructure project outside A area can be considered for refund of electricity duty or concession in electricitycharges.
The committee has called for 100 per cent exemption in payment of stamp duty and registration charges, one-time exemption from payment of octroi duty/entry tax in lieu of octroi duty in Navi Mumbai on capital goods to be allowed. In order to make an infrastructure project viable, the duration and the quantum of toll that could be charged to the actual users may be allowed to be fixed suitably on case to case basis.
On the scales of incentives and eligibility period, the committee has recommended sales-tax incentives in the form of non-refundable special incentive through vouchers or deferral as per the existing scheme. In the earlier schemes, sales-tax incentives were available either by way of exemption or deferral during the eligibility period.
Under the scheme of such vouchers, an eligible unit will, on issue of eligibility certificate, obtain special incentive voucher of different denominations up to eligible amount from the implementing agency. Vouchers to the extent of tax liability willbe attached with the sales tax returns to be submitted to authority in lieu of payment of cash/cheque.
The incentives in the form of deferral will be on the lines of existing deferral schemes and the repayment will be after 10 years in five equal annual instalments. The scales of incentives in the deferral option have been proposed on higher side than those considered under the special incentive vouchers.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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